Sony Preparing Broadband Multichannel TV Service

Internet TV could use PlayStation Network to huge benefit.

Sony is set to unveil its own multichannel TV service at next week's Consumer Electronics Show, in a bid to compete with Microsoft and Samsung in the streaming video business.

According to a report on Variety, the 'conglom' will aim to offer a service similar to that of US cable operators, with a package deal consisting of a number of live TV channels served directly to networked devices using a broadband connection. Sony declined to comment on the story.

Sony is in "active negotiations with at least two major content companies" to license their channels for the service, with plans to rollout a package for consumers in the US later this year. Of course, Sony itself has its own temple of content riches, with the conglomerate owning movie studios and various other video streaming services such as Crackle.

The networked, broadband-only approach allows Sony to access a broader number of potential subscribers, and also means that content can be beamed to devices such as the PlayStation 3 and Xperia smartphones via the PlayStation Network.

Recently, Sony reached a deal with Epix for PSN which allows for a large library of relatively new movies (such as The Avengers, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and The Hunger Games) to be played on PlayStation 3. Ensuring such content can be accessed on this new service would benefit Sony greatly.

Microsoft has already made a move into the TV market via its Xbox 360 console, with Xbox Live offering a number of streaming apps from a variety of different content providers.